Perception of Reality

[Joshua Farrell]

Is your perception of reality akin to other people’s experience of reality?

Granted, we all are living entirely different lives. We all grew up under totally different circumstances and have different opinions about basically everything.

But what is really interesting is to question if we all perceive reality similarly.

For instance, due to the fact that our brains are quite different, every one of us perceives colors differently. Surely, we all know what a red or yellow T-shirt looks like. But do we all perceive this particular color similarly? I doubt it.

At the same time, everything we experience in life is not objectively interpreted. Instead, the happenings of the world are always subjectively interpreted by our brains. Based on our attitudes, beliefs but also the culture we grew up in, we may perceive similar experiences quite differently.

 

[Cosmic]

But do we all perceive this particular color similarly? I doubt it.

For the most part, we do. Studies show that humans have similar emotional and cultural responses to colors (ie, black as a color of mourning in western cultures, or the color red evoking passion or effecting the body in ways such as raising blood pressure, when seen in large quantities). The colors themselves map to different wavelengths and frequencies of light, which is what we are sensing when we see colors. Humans generally share a similar aesthetic taste, which implies that colors mix together in similar ways for different people. So for all intents and purposes, humans without color blindness see colors identically or very similarly. Color blindness is rather tricky. I’m not familiar with what causes that, and how it is likely to effect vision.

At the same time, everything we experience in life is not objectively interpreted. Instead, the happenings of the world are always subjectively interpreted by our brains. Based on our attitudes, beliefs but also the culture we grew up in, we may perceive similar experiences quite differently.

This is the area where I think there is more difference. We all hold a set of beliefs that are reinforced culturally, tribally, religiously, etc. and those beliefs are reinforced by confirmation bais. We subcociously try to see things in a light that is supported by, and reinforced those beliefs. This is in part a survival mechanism, because children, or bear cubs, or calves, who follow the advice of their elders are more likely to survive. Similarly, primordial apes that support their leaders are less likely to be targeted as potential rivals or outsiders. Creatures that organize among tribal lines are more likely to survive. This, in part, leads to Alabama and Auburn fans, and Democrats and Republicans.